Belgian Confession of Faith, Article 10, God the Son, His Eternity and Activity. Brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ, there are many proofs of Christ's deity in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. It would take deliberate blindness not to see proofs of Christ's deity in the Old Testament and the New Testament. I know that's a very bold statement, but it's true. More than that, it's essential that he is God, fully God. Our headings in seeing this are two, Christ is God, his eternity, and then second, Christ is God, his activity. And our goals are that you will be convinced of the deity of Christ, and that you will appreciate Christ's work as deity for you more and more, and then third, that you will be excited to be a witness of the implications of Christ's deity to the world. So you believe it. That should be easy enough. That you will appreciate what he has done for you. It's a little bit more difficult. And that you will tell the world, indeed, Jesus is Christ, and how essential that fact is to their salvation. Let's read together the Belgian Confession, Article 10, in your sermon notes. Let's begin together. We believe that Jesus Christ, according to his divine nature, is the only begotten Son of God, begotten from eternity, not made nor created, for then he would be a creature, but coessential and coeternal with the Father, the very image of his substance and the effulgence of his glory, equal to Him in all things. He is the Son of God, not only from the time He assumed our nature, but from all eternity, as these testimonies, when compared together, teach us. Moses says God created the world, and Saint John said that all things were made by that word, which he calls God. The Apostle says that God made the world by his Son. Likewise, that God created all things by Jesus Christ. Therefore, it must follow that he who is called God, the Word, the Son, and Jesus Christ did exist at that time when all things were created by him. Therefore, the prophet Micah says, his movements are from of old, from everlasting. And the apostle, he hath neither beginning of days nor end of life. He, therefore, is that true, eternal, and almighty God whom we invoke, worship, and serve." So, God, Christ is God looking at his eternity first. Jesus is the only begotten. The word there is monogamous. He is the only begotten Son of God, begotten from eternity. That word, mon, again is quite unique. It's used for special circumstances. Jesus himself was not created. He was not adopted like we are. He was the only begotten, a unique thing. What can we compare it to? Nothing. Because nothing can be compared to the fact that he always existed. He was the Son of God from eternity. Now let's look at proof that this only begotten Son is truly the co-essential and co-eternal God. First, Jesus is treated as possessing a very essence of God. Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14. We like to say this at Christmastime, but this is true all throughout the year together. Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a son. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. Remember, the sign here was what Ahaz didn't want. And God says, you don't want a sign. I'll give you a sign. A son will come. And he will come from a virgin and his name will be God with us. What you see there is no daylight between God and Christ. For the sun that would come from God would be 100% God as well. Where Jesus is present, God is present. That's why his name is Emmanuel. But this is not just some doctrine that you get into your head. What are the implications of Christ being Immanuel? He's always there with you. That's why he said, I'm with you even to the end of the age when they had the job of making disciples of all the nations. But he's with you when you're lonely, when you're in pain, in the stillness of the night and you're frustrated with someone or some problem in your life. The Lord is with you. God with you. He knows when you have a broken heart. He knows when your task seems more than you're able to handle. You say, how can I deal with this problem? Well, Jesus knows. God knows. Second, not only Do we find that there's a very essence of God in Christ? But Jesus claimed directly that he was from eternity. He asserted eternal life in himself, showing that he existed long before he was incarnated. John chapter 7 verse 58 says, together, Jesus said to them, most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. In other words, I am the existing one. John 17, five together. And now, oh, father, glorify me together with yourself, with the glory with which I had with you before the world was. So in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And Christ was there with his father before the world was made. More. He not only claimed and asserted that, and we missed one there, Jesus testified to his own deity. B, in your notes, John chapter 10, verse 31, together. I and my Father are one. And we see, when we see this type of language, we start to think, Jesus is claiming to be equal with the Father. And you know the old adage, either he's a lunatic, doesn't know what he's talking about, either he's a liar, or he is the Lord, and he's speaking the truth. And the Bible shows by his own testimony, the testimony of others, that he indeed is the Lord. Fourth, or D, even the prophet and apostle spoke of Jesus about his eternity proving his deity. Micah chapter five, verse two. Again, another one we use at Christmas time, but it's true all throughout the year together. But you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me the one to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. So we know this is speaking about Jesus. It's confirmed by Micah. It's confirmed in the New Testament. And what do we know about Him? He was there from everlasting. He took on a human body 2,000 years ago. He appeared in other times before, and we'll see that in the next one. But He was there long before those times. Isaiah 9, verse 6, together. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father. You ever hear anyone calling his wife God or his child God? No. God is a title reserved for God and God alone. It would have been the height of arrogance and blasphemy to call one who was not God, God. Romans 9, verse 5, together, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen. It's like, okay, let's summarize this. He is the eternally blessed God. John 1, 1 and 2, together, In the beginning was the Word, he was in the beginning with God. I just broke it up a little bit to make it shorter. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was Jesus, and he was in the beginning with God. When was the beginning? Eternally. So Jesus was there for eternity. Five, the patriarchs recognize Jesus as God in his God appearances. We'll not look at the passages, but these were called Theophanies. And you've seen in Genesis 18, a few months back, where Abraham called Jesus Yahweh, God. Six, Jesus claimed equality to his eternal Father in all things, not just in some things, but in everything. Jesus did not shy away from confessing he was equal to the Father. He did this directly and by implication, and one of them is John 5, verse 23. Let's read together. that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him." In other words, you are going to treat me the way you treat God because I am God. And by the way, because of what he said here, It formed the basis of his execution. The Jews knew that the phrase son of God applied to the second person of the Trinity. You know, if someone just simply said, I am the son of God, you can say that. I'm the daughter of God. Nobody would kill you for that. They would not say, you deserve to die. But this was a title that he was using that was explicitly applied to the second person of the Trinity. John chapter 5 verse 18 says, together, Therefore, the Jews sought all the more to kill him because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was his father, making himself equal to God. You see, we can say that and nobody will kill us because we're not claiming to be equal to God in all things. He was. And that's why they killed Jesus. Furthermore, every attribute of God is equally attributes of Christ. For example, God is omniscient, Jesus is omniscient. What's the conclusion? That Jesus is God. For example, Jesus knew Nathanael, who he was before they met him, before they saw him. Why? And he knew what Nathaniel was thinking. Remember when he met him? He said, oh, there's an Israelite in whom there's no guile. John chapter 2 verse 25, together, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for he knew what was in man. Do you really know? You know, sometimes you can make a guess. Sometimes you go up to someone, I know my wife does this to me, she sees me and she says, you want to tell me something, because it's on my face. But sometimes there's nothing. I might be smiling because I'm thinking of dinner. You can't always know for sure. And sometimes you know part and sometimes you guess and you're wrong. Not so with the Lord. He knew exactly what each one was thinking all the time. And you know what Daniel was thinking? Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Anything good come out of that place where Jesus is from? And Jesus knew exactly what he was thinking. That's God. That's not some remarkable person. It's more than remarkable. If Jesus were not God, then Christianity would be like every other religion that requires the action of man to find favor with God. Christianity will be in the list of all the other religions, which are dual religions instead of a done religion. Only Christianity teaches that God is not impressed by any of man's actions, but has provided Christ to be your Savior, and he had to be God in order to do it. What a precious gift we have in Jesus Christ. What a privilege it is to be called the children of God, restored to Him properly in Jesus Christ. What a comfort it is that we can leave this world with the knowledge that we belong to Jesus 100%. But doesn't this motivate you then to serve Him with more passion, to live pious lives, good, clean lives for all He has done, and to dedicate ourselves to Him? Let's move then to the second point. We know who Christ is. He is the eternal God, and that's essential. His eternity was essential for Him to be that fit person, great enough to die for the sins of the world. But look at His activity now. Christ is God, His activity. Christ, the eternal Son of God, made and keeps all people and all things. The Bible teaches that God made all things. And since the Bible teaches that Christ made all things, the natural conclusion, the logical thing is that Christ must be God. So not only in his nature he is God, but his activities prove that he is God. Colossians 1 talks about it. Nothing was made without God, but also 1 John 1, verse 3, together. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made that was made. You know, when you repeat something and you state it positively or negatively, it's like you want to say, take special note of this. Jesus made all things. Not only did he make all things, he preserves all things. He holds all things together. Hebrews chapter one, verse two and three, together. has in these last days spoken to us by his son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds, who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. when he made himself purge our sins, sat down. The sins were gone, we were safe. No sin could ever be held against you. That's the preservation of the believer. You see how special you are then to Christ? That you would provide everything for your body and soul. You know, when Rebecca was going back to Canaan, she wasn't going to go there and think, well, I wonder, am I going to have food to eat? You will see in the next section, there's a detail. Eliezer will say, Abraham has left everything for his son. So your daughter will not be suffering. And that was a picture of Christ. Rebecca is a picture of the church. And Christ is going to make sure that we are well cared for. The truth is, he left a lot of wealth for her, but Isaac died. He couldn't be there forever. Not so with the Lord Jesus. He died, rose again, sits at the right hand of the Father, and continues to take care of his bride, and prepares her for that heavenly marriage, but will be in the presence of the Lord Jesus forever. So, you know, if you or a loved one dies, your body and soul remain in the hand of the Lord. That's preservation. We'll never be lost. He is ruling. He says what happens, and it happens. The one who dies simply moves from an earthly dimension to a heavenly dimension. That's because of the preserving power of Christ, our Creator. He's eternal, but He's also active in your life. Second, Jesus, the eternal Son of God, accepted worship and honor, something which only God must do. Remember, you have to think, He's either a lunatic, a liar, or Lord. John chapter 5, verse 23 says, together, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He didn't say a little bit less since he's first person of the Trinity. I'm like number two. Give me a little bit less. He says, just as they honor the Father. John 20, 28, together. And Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God. Jesus was called God in adoration by Thomas. And what did Thomas see? He saw Jesus' side. He saw the palm of his hands. That's what Jesus said. You're doubting Mr. Thomas? Come look. Look at the marks. Look at the marks. See who I am. And then he recognized this is God. And he exclaimed that. You know, I have sometimes people would say things about me and how helpful they are in counseling or something, and you cringe because you know you're using God's words. Or sometimes the Holy Spirit might bless what you're saying, and you are surprised, and it will happen to you too. Maybe you help somebody, and you try to play a little part in it, but it means so much more to them. And they're praising you, and you kind of cringe, like, I feel uncomfortable with people saying those nice things about me. You know, when they said nice things about Jesus, he didn't say, no, no, no, no. I'm. You say that I say that we're not fit, we're instruments. You probably hear me say when people talk about preaching or a sermon that is helpful and I say, oh, God spoke through a donkey. I'm just this donkey for the day because that's really who we are. We're just instruments. Not so with Jesus. When they praised him, he took their praises. He fully knew what he did and what he would do later in life. And he said so, and he took the credit for what he did. Three, Jesus, the eternal Son of God, forgives sins, a thing that only Jesus could do. A couple of examples. Mark 2.5, together, when Jesus saw their faith, he said, Son, your sins are forgiven you. Luke 7.48, together, then he said to her, your sins are forgiven. Now, you might say, well, we forgive people too, but it's not the same level. When Jesus forgives sins, he had in view the cross, his sacrifice to satisfy God's anger against that sin. When you forgive someone, you're just simply saying, look, Jesus forgives you. I will not hold that sin against you. So it's different. Jesus, indeed, does forgive sins. Four, Jesus, the eternal Son of God, is the judge of the world, a thing that only God can do. We can make certain types of judgments, but it's one of the reasons we don't use the word, God damn you, because it's not in our area of judgment, our purview is not to say, you go to hell. We cannot do so. We're not the eternal judge. Plus, we can't enforce any judgment either. But when Jesus says, you are damned, you are damned forever. And the Bible then says, God will judge you at the end of the world. And then the Bible says, Jesus will judge you at the end of the world. And what do we conclude? Jesus is God. John chapter 5, verse 22 says together, For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son. And yet the Bible says God is the ultimate judge, and yet he chooses his Son as a means of bringing judgment at the end of the world. So, what's the implication of Jesus being judge? He has to free you from the condemnation that you're under. And that's why he's our prophet or priest or king. He's the one who took the judgment for you. And that's why you're free. At the same time, you have to remember that Jesus will condemn the wicked if they don't have the gospel. So there are a couple of implications there further, is that you have to share the gospel with others, because they will face Judge Jesus, eternal God, at the end of the world. And you need to pray that they might come out from their sins, knowing what will happen. And you should not be afraid to say, if you don't believe in Jesus Christ, Jesus will condemn you to hell for eternity. You live on land where people like to be polite. And it's almost like you cringe and say, you know, you should be a Christian. It's good. You'll go to church. You'll live a good life. You'll be at nice people. But that's not it. Those are true things. But it's to be saved from eternal damnation in hell. You ought to be willing to say that. 5. Jesus, the Eternal Son of God, is your Savior. A thing that only God can do. The Bible calls God your Savior. The Bible calls Jesus your Savior. Therefore, Jesus is God. Why do you need a Savior? because no one can fix the problem of sin by himself. All other religions, because they are deceptions of the devil, will tell you it is within your power to bring forgiveness of your sins by your good works, by your charitable deeds, by your penance, by the suffering of your body. But Jesus is the only means of salvation. Let's read John chapter 5 verse 24 together. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Without Jesus, there's hell. With Jesus, the only means of hope. John 8, 23 and 24 together. And he said to them, you are from beneath and I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. Therefore, I said to you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. You notice there's no ambivalence, uncertainty. There's clarity. Jesus, life. No Jesus, death. He's the only one. That's why we know he's God. The salvation in no other name given among men by which we might be saved. And you can have this assurance. Not might have eternal life, will have eternal life. The believer experienced salvation in his heart. Now, the Muslims say Jesus was a prophet. Eastern religions view Jesus as the enlightened one. And they study Jesus' words because his words are like, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And they think these are real spiritual nuggets. So Jesus was like the enlightened teacher, like Buddha or Confucius. Western people like to see Jesus as a moralist who gives rules for daily living. And you say, don't murder and don't do these things and you'll be good. Liberals see Jesus as the revolutionary who spoke up for the little man against the man, the oppressors, the rich people, the establishment. Some people view Jesus as the ideal man. Listen to a lot of politicians. They will say, yeah, you have to learn to sacrifice for others. Maybe you have to give up things and give to other people. You need to give them food. And like Jesus said, you need to give them free health care because Jesus healed people. That's how they see Jesus. But those who hold to these views miss something important. Jesus is the eternal Son of God, who is the means of salvation from sin, the only means of salvation from sin. And without Him, they'll be condemned to hell for eternity. That's the Christ of the Bible. Share this truth, so men will know and not fall prey to the lies of the Muslims, of the Eastern religions, of the liberals, others who have these strange views of Jesus. Let's conclude. Jesus is the eternal Son of God without beginning or end. He's equal to the Father in every single way. His testimony and His activities prove He is God. He's the creator and the sustainer of all things. He is worshipped. He accepts worship. He forgives sins. He will judge the world. If Christ were not God, you could not be saved from your sins, for you would not be able to face the anger of God. and you will learn of hell soon again, that's what you deserve without Jesus Christ as the eternal Son of God and the only means of salvation. So brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, confess Jesus is the eternal Son of God for your own salvation. For only God could bear the punishment of man's sin and relieve man of his suffering. Second, since Christ is the eternal Son of God, learn more so you could worship Him better. Learn of the one who gave up the glories of heaven for you. Learn of His humiliation. When you see His holiness, His magnificence, His majesty, and then you see where He came to be that baby in the manger that we were singing of earlier, to the one who was bloodied and beaten and betrayed and put into the tomb. You learn more and you learn that He had to do these things for you. Ah, you will worship Him better. And in third, since Christ is the eternal Son of God, by His eternity in activity, rest in that confidence and stop worrying about the future. If you live or you die, whose are you? You're the Lord's. If you struggle to find employment, or you're struggling in your relationship, or things are tough in your life, you're sick, you're the Lord's. He's eternal. He does what you need, what's good for you. Don't worry about the future. Four, since Christ is the eternal Son of God, announce Him to the world, so the world might learn and confess this. Without this knowledge, the world can never come to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. You know, we attempted to say sometimes, well, we're similar to other religions. You should join us because we believe in one God, like the Muslims do, like the Jews do. But that's not salvation. Point out the deity of Jesus Christ and how essential that is. And all these religions denied the deity of Jesus Christ. So help the Muslim and the Jew see that they're not worshipping the same God as we are worshipping. Don't try to show them how similar we are. Show them how lost they are without Jesus Christ. Finally, Jesus is the eternal Son of God. And before Him, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess one day that He is the only way to God. Except then, it will be too late if they have not confessed Him. You have that opportunity today. If you have not confessed Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, as God of all the world, do it. Maybe there's no other time for you. Amen. Let's pray. Thank you, Lord, for your words, and thank you for speaking to us so clearly in the scriptures about the eternity and the activity of Jesus Christ. Lord, help us not to be complacent, but to learn more about Jesus so we could serve him better, but also to tell this message to a world that denies who Jesus is. Most of the world will accept that he was kind of a good man, Well, Lord, we need much more. They need to know that He is the only means of salvation, that they will find Him. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.